Chinese stock market crash; has the bubble finally burst?

[Valmy]

China does seem to be grabbing the low end of the (dying) PC market with the Acer brand it overpaid IBM for.  Or was that Visio?

Every time I read about the Chinese car industry the verdict is still the same: they're all shit.

Are PCs dying?

Pity all the alternatives look like you pay a crap load more for a lot less computing power and flexibility.

[celedhring]

I work in IT and there is a couple of well-known Chinese brands. Alibaba, Baidu, TenCent as service providers, Huawei for communication hardware. Not quite Google but it is getting there.

I own a Huawei modem, and they are a large smartphone vendor too. They are certainly a popular choice in Spain.

[Barrister]

China does seem to be grabbing the low end of the (dying) PC market with the Acer brand it overpaid IBM for.  Or was that Visio?

Every time I read about the Chinese car industry the verdict is still the same: they're all shit.

Are PCs dying?

Pity all the alternatives look like you pay a crap load more for a lot less computing power and flexibility.

That's the story - PC sales have been flat to declining for years. 

[Valmy]

That's the story - PC sales have been flat to declining for years. 

Soon everything will be over-priced and under-powered touch screen crap.

I blame Apple for this. They have always convinced consumers that paying more for less is trendy. DAMN YOU AND YOUR CULT BB.

[Monoriu]

DAMN YOU AND YOUR CULT BB.

I think there are legitimate doubts if BB is still in the Apple camp 

[celedhring]

A lot of low-computing stuff that you were forced to do in a PC now can be done in other, lighter, low-powered devices. Watching films, internet browsing, messaging, etc... The market has reshuffled to reflect that, but the PC isn't going away.

Also, unless you're into gaming or some professional applications, there's little incentive to upgrade your PC anymore. Office runs as well in my mid-2000s laptop as in this one I bought in 2013.

[DGuller]

That's the story - PC sales have been flat to declining for years.

Are flat sales really a sign of a dying market?  Pretty much everyone who wants to own a PC owns a PC these days, so there isn't much organic growth.  And PCs do have a somewhat longer lifespan these days, so they'll be replaced less often.  That doesn't mean that the industry is dying, only that it's stabilizing.

[Berkut]

It's dying like the stove and refrigerator markets died.

[KRonn]

Still probably going to stay over $3/gallon here in AK. 

There was some talk of gas being under $2 a gallon in some areas, not many, and a continuing downward trend. I've been paying about $2.55 for gas the last time I filled up.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Still probably going to stay over $3/gallon here in AK. 

There was some talk of gas being under $2 a gallon in some areas, not many, and a continuing downward trend. I've been paying about $2.55 for gas the last time I filled up.

Gas prices won't be affected much by oil prices because refineries are running at capacity.

[derspiess]

I buy crude oil and home-refine my own gasoline. 

[mongers]

I buy crude oil and home-refine my own gasoline.

In contrast, I'm too refined to get my hands dirty. 

[KRonn]

Still probably going to stay over $3/gallon here in AK. 

There was some talk of gas being under $2 a gallon in some areas, not many, and a continuing downward trend. I've been paying about $2.55 for gas the last time I filled up.

Gas prices won't be affected much by oil prices because refineries are running at capacity.

Good point but the US was, and maybe still is, exporting gasoline so we must have room for prices to come down with an over supply. There is a problem with refinery capacity but I'm pretty sure I've read that some refineries have been able to increase production.

[MadImmortalMan]

Most refineries in the US are 40 years old or so. I haven't heard of a new one opening in my lifetime.

[Syt]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-34104114

China punishes 197 over stock market and Tianjin 'rumours'

Chinese authorities have punished 197 people for spreading rumours online about the recent stock market crash and fatal explosions in Tianjin, according to state news agency Xinhua.

A journalist and stock market officials are among those arrested, Xinhua said. It gave no other details.

Chinese shares fell by nearly 8% after a week of volatile trading that spread fear to global markets.

The Tianjin explosions killed 150 people - with 23 still missing.

A total of 367 people remain in hospital after the 12 August blast at a warehouse where large amounts of toxic chemicals were stored. Twenty are in critical condition, according to Xinhua.

Separately, the UK's Financial Times says Chinese leaders feel they mishandled their stock market rescue efforts.

The paper, quoting an account of a meeting of senior regulatory officials on Thursday, said the government had decided to abandon attempts to boost the stock market and instead step up efforts to punish people suspected of "destabilising the market".

Chinese authorities tightly control information online and have previously prosecuted internet users for spreading rumours.

The rumours described by the latest statement include reports that a man had jumped to his death in Beijing due to the stock market slump and that as many as 1,300 people were killed in Tianjin blasts, Xinhua said.

The news agency said "seditious rumours about China's upcoming commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II" were also among the offences.

A journalist was also arrested along with several stock market officials, according to a Xinhua report. The journalist, Wang Xiaolu, is accused of "spreading fake information" about the market slump, the report said.

'Picking quarrels'

The state news agency said Mr Wang confessed that he "wrote fake report on Chinese stock market based on hearsay and his own subjective guesses without conducting due verifications".

In 2013 Chinese authorities introduced a possible three-year sentence for spreading rumours - the sentence was supposed to apply to anyone who posted a rumour that was reposted 500 times or viewed 5,000 times.

Last year, Qin Zhihui, a blogger, was sentenced to three years in a government crackdown on internet rumours. Mr Qin was found guilty of "slander" and "picking quarrels and provoking troubles", state broadcaster CCTV said at the time.